A Quick Guide to 5-Star Reputation Management for Insurance Agencies
How important is your online reputation management for the future of your insurance agency? Let's start by taking a quick look at the data. We know that as many as 90% of customers read online reviews before visiting a business, and for 74% of them, reviews and other types of content that put a positive light on the business automatically result in the consumer placing more trust in the brand.
Now stop and consider the nature of an insurance agency. Insurance businesses aren't offering a product that consumers necessarily want, instead it's a need that's required to protect the people and assets that are most important to them. This means that trust is essential and building and maintaining an online reputation to instill that trust needs to be a priority starting today.
So, what's the secret to an online reputation that outshines the rest? It doesn't involve any type of magic or marketing sorcery, but instead a focused, targeted approach on a few strategies that elevate your digital presence and lets everyone know just how valuable and trustworthy your agency is. To help you with the process, here's a quick guide to maintaining a stellar reputation for your insurance agency online.
Know That What You Don't Do Matters:
When insurance agencies are focused on building their reputation, they hear about how they should be doing this and that. But, the fact is that what you don't do is just as impactful to your reputation management, and it almost all centers around customer care.
For example, what is your go to approach when a customer comes to you with a concern or posts a not so flattering comment on social media? If your strategy is to ignore their concerns, delay your response or not approach it from the customer's point of view, then you're not putting the type of effort into customer service that's going to win over any hearts.
More examples of not doing the right thing to protect and build your reputation include not being open minded about customer solutions or denying your responsibility in the issue. We've all heard the old saying that the customer is always right, and we all know that there are times when this isn't the case. Still, the focus should be on responding quickly and working out a solution rather than placing blame or holding strictly to protocol when a viable solution is attainable.
It doesn't matter how big or small something might seem; insurance agencies need to be proactive in both customer service issues and staying on top of the marketing strategies that help to elevate their presence online. Not doing so only leaves you standing in the dust of your competition.
The Importance of Generating and Managing Insurance Company Reviews:
There aren't many businesses of any type that don't have at least a few reviews about their products or services floating around online. These types of insurance company reviews have become incredibly important for reputation management, making them an area that all insurance agencies should be focusing on.
What makes online reviews so important is the weight that customers put on them. For example, the majority of consumers trust online reviews just as much as they do word of mouth reviews from family and friends. Today's consumer is also savvy, meaning that they can easily spot fake reviews and can recognize when a business has been a little less than honest with their review strategy. Positive reviews are great, but if they don't appear to be genuine and authentic, it can hurt an insurance agency's reputation instead. This brings us to the question of how to generate the type of reviews that make your agency the number one stop for customers with insurance needs.
All customers love receiving high quality service, and they enjoy reading the great reviews, but not everyone actually thinks about leaving a review themselves. So, it's up to you to encourage them to do so. For example, simply asking if they were satisfied with their experience and if they would consider leaving a review can work wonders. But the art of encouraging reviews also goes a little deeper.
Take for example, what happens when you respond quickly to the reviews you receive online. Whether it's to say thank you for a glowing 5 star review or to proactively work to solve an issue before it escalates, customers appreciate the fact that you're paying attention. When your reviews show that you interact, it encourages others to leave a recommendation of their own.
Designing a Website with Reputation in Mind:
You can be honest, how many times have you been turned off by any type of business that had an outdated website, or one that wasn't optimized to perform on your mobile device? At this point with technology, consumers expect websites that both look and function professionally. This is especially true for insurance agencies where customers need to feel confident in the business they're entrusting the important job of protecting their life, family or most valuable possessions with.
If you're working with a website that you built yourself or hasn't been updated in a couple years, now is the time to have a web design professional take a look at it. Important user experience features like site navigation, load speed and mobile responsiveness are essential for an insurance agency's reputation in the current digital landscape.
Gaining the Edge on the Competition:
It's time for you to build and maintain an online reputation that attracts high quality leads rather than watching them walk away due to lack of confidence in your services. When it comes to something as important as your reputation, some outside perspective can be the game changer you need. We're here to provide that perspective with professional online reputation management services for insurance agents. We offer reputation management, along with web design and social media marketing specifically for the insurance industry. If you're tired of flat revenue and are ready for growth, we have your answers. Contact Confluency Solutions today to learn more about what we can do for your insurance agency.